Sidney yankauek



FFICE.

SIDNEY YANKAUER, OF NE\V YORK, N. Y.

SCALPEL.

@JPEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 445,237, dated January 27, 1891.

Serial No. 369,682. (No model.)

To dZZ/ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIDNEY YANKAUER, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Scalpels, of which the following is such a full, clear, concise, and exact description as will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The object of the present invention is to make a scalpel or surgical instrun'ient which, while having a secure and tight joint with the handle of the instrument, may also be removed and another one or a different instrument substituted upon the same handle, and, further, to provide an instrument which may be easily cleaned and kept from injury after being used.

To these ends the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of the joint between the handle and the blade and combination of the parts, as hereinafter more fully de scribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a scalpel, showing the handle and blade united together and the joint upon one side thereof, while Fig. 52 is a view of the opposite side, and Fig. 23 a view of the blade and handle detached, with the blade dotted into position on the handle for either attaching or detaching it therefrom. Figs. 4: and 5 are edge views of the handle and blade, respectively.

The invention essentially consists of uniting the blade of a pocket-case scalpel to its handle by having a blade a end in a flange a, which is united to a flange b on the handle b by means of a pin (1 so as to be removable and readjustablc at will. The flange a on the blade (I, has a slot a cut into it which is countersunk on the outer side to receive the head of the pin Zn. The head of this pin is cut away, leaving two small projections which fit into the slot a and when the handle is turned these small pieces slide on the shelf of the countersink holding the two pieces together the head standing crosswise on the handle, while the slot is lengthwise. The end of the flange a is rounded at its outer end, while at the extreme inner end it is provided with a diagonal shoulder a which is grooved to receive the end of the flange I) on the handle I). The pin 1) on the handle may be made secure by solder, or it may be riveted or welded or screwed into the handle or fixed by any other suitable means. The end of the flange I) is also cut slanting and beveled and rounded to [it into the groove a on the flange of the blade. The junction of the flange on the handle is in the form of the arc of a circle and rounded in such a way that the surface of the flange is continuous with the surface of the shank without any sharp corners. This curve maybe converted into a groove to receive the end of the flange of the blade, which in such case would be correspondingly rounded. The flange on the handle is turned toward the other to act as a spring. The instrument thus constructed is easily handled, has a secure joint, and the blade can be changed quickly and at will. This joint enables one to make the handle of the same shape that of the fixed scalpel. There are no springs, catches, or other movable parts upon which the strength of the joint is made to depend and which may become loose while in use. The operator when changing the blade does not need to hold a third piece nor to readjust the same. Any number of instruments requiring adjustment or use upon the same handle can be carried in a pocket-case, saving room and weight in carrying the various instruments required. Moreover, it will be understood that every part of the instrument can be reached with a rag or cloth during cleaning and that every part of the surface of the instrument will be touched by any antiseptic fluid when immersed in the same. All parts of the same can be boiled or heated to the boiling-point without danger of destroying any part of the same. n

The instrument is perfectly aseptic and is in every way simple, easily manipulated, and firm in use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A scalpel or surgical instrument consistiug of a handle and blade correspondingly countersunk and provided with a diagonal joint, whereby the blade is rendered firm when attached to the handle, substantially as described.

2. A scalpel or surgical instrument consisting" of the combination of a handle provided with a countersunk flange having its outer end out diagonally across and its inner end IO provided with a circular groove, in combination with a blade having a countersunk flange provided with a circular outer end and a diagonal inner end, said inner end being also provided with a groove, whereby when said parts are united together a firm joint will be I5 made, substantially as described.

SIDNEY YANKAUER. Vitnesses:

JOHN GooDE, THEODORE YANKAUER. 

